Many devices operate within a constrained or compact enclosure from which a user may need to obtain information regarding the operation of the device. Without the ability to obtain information directly from the device inside the enclosure, it is necessary to have the information transmitted to the user or at times to transmit data to the device. It is also desirable for the user to be able to monitor and/or control the operation of the device from a remote location. Without remote monitoring capability, a user may not have the ability to monitor and/or control the operation of the device.
Conventional methods of monitoring activity within such a constrained or compact enclosure have only allowed for the use of a chip antenna or a physically short antenna that is not tuned to a desired frequency.
An advantageous antenna would be formed as one of a dipole or monopole and be raised away from a printed circuit board allowing for improved transmission and reception of signals over conventional chip antennas.
Advantageously, the antenna would be able to receive and transmit signals from within the enclosure enabling a user to securely and remotely query the status of a device within the enclosure, for example, a property entrance-door deadbolt lock, a set top box, a gateway, etc., using, for example, a cell phone that can be located substantially anywhere in the world without a need to subscribe to a commercial security service. A remotely situated user using conventional Application software (Apps) for Windows, Android, or iOS is able to receive the status or operational parameters of the device, for example by detecting when a deadbolt lock is engaged in a door frame or when it is retracted from the door frame based on a queried command, detecting a status of a set top box or remotely programming the set top box to record a program, etc. The queried command may be applied by wireless communication via a Graphical User Interface installed on a Smartphone or Personal Computer such as a Laptop, Desktop, or Notepad that may be located in the vicinity of the device or at a remote location that may be far from the device. Additionally, the sensor may be used in a variety of Home Automation applications. The sensor has a unique advantage of being lower in cost and providing better performance than chip antennas and also allows for use in very small spaces.
In a further advantageous feature, the antenna can be employed in any Wi-Fi, ZigBee or Bluetooth application. Further, the antenna can be employed in any number of devices where it would operate in a constrained enclosure such as a set-top box or gateway. In a further exemplary use, when used with a deadbolt sensor, the antenna can be used to receive command signals for remotely locking and unlocking, e.g. activating and deactivating, the deadbolt lock.
For example, when operating with a device in an enclosure, the antenna may be connected to a wireless transceiver/transmitter. Responsive to output signals such as from a sensor, the wireless transceiver/transmitter may periodically transmit a first wireless signal via the antenna conforming to a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol that may contain information derived from the output signal. A BLE-ZigBee bridge device responsive to the BLE wireless signal may periodically store information related to the device. The bridge device may additionally be responsive to a second wireless signal conforming to the ZigBee protocol containing a request for information. The bridge device may transmit stored information using a third wireless signal conforming to the ZigBee protocol at a power level that is higher than a power level of the first wireless signal. The third wireless signal may be applied to a gateway device that conveys the stored information via the antenna to, for example, a remote user via, for example, a wide area network such as the Internet.
Advantageously, the antenna, the sensor, the BLE wireless transceiver and a battery that energizes the BLE wireless transceiver are installed together as a single unit that is inserted into a compact enclosure. They may also be displaced together, during operation, as a single unit in the enclosure.
Advantageously, reliability of the device may be improved by informing the user of any malfunction by providing error detection capability that includes redundancy, transmitting a signal indicative of the error detection using the antenna. The antenna improves the transmission and reception of signals by the device by increasing the transmission range, allowing for operation as either a monopole or dipole, minimizing interference from a printed circuit board and allowing for tuning to a desired frequency.